Tuesday

Mar 31, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 31, 2009 at 7:07 PM

As Canton firefighters investigate what started the fire that killed a 5-year-old boy Monday, neighbors and friends leave stuffed animals, toys and handwritten notes at the fire scene to express their sorrow.

“He was making a bow and arrow with a shoestring,” Iverson said as he looked at Azariah’s home.

Fund set up to help Adkins family.

The younger boy died later that afternoon in a fire that tore through his home at 820 Fulton Rd. NW. An autopsy was performed this afternoon. Stark County Coroner P.S. Murthy said preliminary results show the boy died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The fire also heavily damaged Joshua’s home. He and his family are staying in a local hotel.

Firefighters still don’t know where or how the fire at the Adkins house started.

The house is owned by the Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority. The Adkins family has lived there since 2005, said Amanda Fletcher, SMHA executive director.

Smoke detectors wired into the house’s electrical circuits were placed on all three floors, Fletcher said. The house passed an inspection last June.

Fletcher said the agency is ready to help the Adkins family find another affordable home once they are ready to begin the search.

THE FIRE

Firefighters were called at 5:49 p.m. Monday, arriving to find flames and heavy smoke.

Azariah’s father, Gerald Adkins, had escaped the house, taking his two daughters, Shekiah, 10, and Shekahana, 8. Azariah still was inside.

Neighbor Cassie Barger said as Adkins screamed and struggled to get back inside, a woman ran to the house and used a rock to smash a window, letting smoke escape. Another neighbor tried to get onto the front porch roof, but was unsuccessful, Barger said.

After repeated attempts to get inside, Adkins joined Joshua’s dad in a futile attempt to douse the fire with garden hoses.

Fire Chief Stephen Rich said the fire likely had been burning hot for some time before firefighters arrived. The third and second floors collapsed during the fire, as did the roof.

Firefighters had to leave the house quickly because the structure had become unstable, Rich said.

But they quickly returned.

“When they went in to get him, it started flaming up again,” said Herman Lennon, whose 4-year-old son, Dajaun Lennon lives a couple of houses away and played with Azariah.

The children played cars and rode bikes together, and Dajaun was looking forward to seeing Azariah at Dajaun’s birthday party this Sunday at Chuck E Cheese’s, Lennon said.

COMMUNITY GRIEVES

Instead, the little boy joined his family Tuesday morning in taking stuffed animals to the front steps of the burned home.

Lennon said his son doesn’t understand that Azariah won’t be playing with those stuffed animals.

“All he knows is there was a fire,” Lennon said. “I just hurt for the family.”

Dozens of other people also left small stuffed animals, toy cars and handwritten messages on the steps.

Barger took a stuffed animal to the steps, talking about seeing Azariah last Sunday. “He was playing on the front porch with his little sword. He was the cutest little boy.”

A few students from Timken High School’s Early Childhood Education center brought a stuffed bunny.

“I have a 5-year-old, too, and I can only imagine what this family must be going through,” said their teacher, Nicole Coleman.

“You hear them call his name all the time. He says, ‘Hello,’ and he plays on his front porch and in his (back)yard with his toys. ... He was the typical, busy 5-year-old.”

HELP THE ADKINS FAMILY

The American Red Cross is assisting the Adkins family, who are staying with relatives.

Azariah’s parents — Gerald Adkins and Charlene Richards — are working on funeral arrangements, said the Rev. Richard L. Jordan, senior pastor at Antioch Baptist Church. “They’re just trying to put their lives back together,” he said.

Two funds have been set up to help the family handle funeral expenses. One is through the church in Azariah’s name.

Another fund has been set up through FirstMerit banks by members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 17A, which represents workers at Heinz Foods in Massillon, where Charlene works. Donations can be made at any branch to the Azariah Adkins Memorial Fund, said Beverly Williams, a minister at Antioch Baptist.

Williams and the Adkins family returned to the Fulton Road NW house Tuesday afternoon. There they greeted neighbors and dozens of people who stopped to express sympathy.

Family members collected the dozens of stuffed animals, flowers and other items left at the house through the day. A sister to Gerald Adkins said the family would keep the stuffed animals in memory of Azariah.

The Adkins family is “holding together and appreciates all of the outpourings of love,” Williams said. “There’s been a lot of love shown, and it’s helping them.”

Repository writer Edd Pritchard contributed to this story.

HOW TO HELP THE ADKINS FAMILY

Two funds have been set up to help the Adkins family handle funeral expenses. Donations can be:

Mailed to Antioch Baptist Church, 1103 Seventh St. NE, Canton OH 44704. Note that the gift is for the Adkins Family.

Deposits can be made at any FirstMerit bank branch to the Azariah Adkins Memorial Fund. Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 17A, which represents workers at Heinz Foods in Massillon where the boy’s mother, Charlene Richards, works, set up the fund.

The family is working with Reed Funeral Home on arrangements, said Beverly Williams, a minister at Antioch Baptist. Donations can be sent to the funeral home, Williams said.

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